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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29337240">Come One, Come All</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivybucky/pseuds/ivybucky'>ivybucky</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America, Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Elephants, F/M, Fluff, Tension, circus AU, lots and lots of tension, slight angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:07:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,494</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29337240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivybucky/pseuds/ivybucky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You’re a knife thrower/strongman, and I’m an elephant trainer and acrobat and now we have to figure out a way to combine our acts together, but you’re really cute and I keep getting distracted and you’re getting frustrated.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bucky Barnes/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Merry Go Round</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>all of my marvel fics can be found at ivybucky on tumblr :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The red and white striped circus tent somehow looked less promising in the daylight. At night, the makeshift arena buzzed with energy and anticipation of the wonders to come. Twinkle lights dotted the pathways leading into the Big Top, pulling in any passerbys with their comforting yellow glow. The spotlights from the tent reflected against the night sky overhead.</p><p>Y/N walked through the flaps of tent, smiling at the tension that replaced the cheers of the crowd as the ring darkened, signalling the end of come in. She got closer into the tent, enough to see all of the ring. A single spotlight landed near the back of the ring in front of the large curtain hiding the rest of the performers.</p><p>“Ladies and Gentleman,” a female voice rang loudly through the tent. “Here it is, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Sit back and enjoy these defying acts of Stark’s Spectacular Show! Here’s your ringleader, Tony Stark!”</p><p>Cheers erupted through the stands as you could faintly hear a “ballyhoo” being called from where the lights were being manned, causing the spotlights to move across the audience in a figure eight motion in anticipation. The top of tent seemed to be pulled tightly to form a large while at the highest point. In the distance, she could hear the mechanic sound of a jet. Suddenly, a figure fell through the whole, landing in the middle of the line stoplight. A metal suit of modern armor stood up straight in its red and gold glory. Within seconds, the suit of armor started to retract, revealing a sharply dressed man within the confines of the suit. Once the suit has completely retracted, the curtains were pulled back as a woman walked into the ring reaching hands with the Ringleader. The couple was dressed in the classic red and black with pops of gold tracing their figures.</p><p>“Thanks, Friday,” the man said into the mic attached to him. “Is everyone ready for a great show?” He asked, prompted a deafening cheer of agreement.</p><p>“Wonderful! Tonight you guys are in for a special treat. This here,” he said, holding the woman’s hand up as she waved to the crowd. “As you guys know is my wife, Pepper. Tonight’s she’s going to be helping me introduce our acts.” More cheers littered the makeshift stadium.</p><p>“Speaking of acts,” he began. “You guys don’t wanna see them do you? You don’t wanna watch the acts?” Cheers of retaliation filled the air once again. Tony put on a knowing-grin while feigning innocence. “Oh you do? Well that’s just great. Let’s bring the out then?” He looked at Pepper encouragingly.</p><p>“Ladies and Gentlemen,” her voice filled ring at an impressive and authoritative volume. “Here are your acts!”</p><p>The curtains flew open as the ring began to fill with all of that nights acts. Clown cars, horses, elephants, and even lions ran through the opening with their respective personnel. From the rafters above, you saw someone fly through the air and do a flip before finding a grip on a swing bar going towards him. She watched the two matching clairvoyants seemingly float into the arena hand in hand. Lastly, strongmen carrying an acrobat walked into the arena. Y/N’s eyes stayed on the animals, to distracted by their gracefulness to notice all of the other act completely. She was thoroughly amazed.</p><p>Her eyes fell back to the middle of the arena where Tony and Pepper stood higher up, hands up as if there were saying, “Look at all the amazing acts we have.” Tony looked around the arena, almost like he was looking for someone, before he made eye-contact with Y/N, waving largely and making her laugh. He kissed Pepper’s cheek before taking his large top hat off and over-gesturing as he put in on top of her head. Looking her in the eyes and mouthing something to her.</p><p>Tony ran out of the ring to the right of the curtain and ran past the bottom row of the audience, high-fiving those whole could reach. He found his way between the bleachers in front of her.</p><p>“Y/N! I’m so glad you decided to come and join us,” he seeped with enthusiasm as he pulled you into a bear hug. She smiled, hugging him back tightly.</p><p>“It’s been way too long,” she smiled back, looking past him. “This is quite the show you have here, Tony.” His eyes followed her gaze to his wife who was perfectly working the crowd.</p><p>“It’s everything I need, ya know?” She could hear the smile in his voice. He turned back around and clapped his hands together. “Alright, let me take you to the back to introduce you yeah?” She nodded at him, letting him usher her to the side stage that was a quicker, less obvious way of getting to the back.</p><p>When her best friend from school came to visit her in New York, she had thought it would just be a simple catching up lunch. But Tony knew about her love for animals and the animal psychology she had studied in college. He appreciated the work she did and how she became a pro at understanding different animal’s needs and how to accommodate them. That’s why he came to her when he got his three elephants in. She found elephants to be majestic creatures and Tony knew about her dream to be up close and personal with them. He invited her to join him and his circus family on the road when his tour made it back to the city.</p><p>Now, here she was, making herway behind the grand curtain to join the life of a circus.</p><p>Behind the curtain, the world would seem like chaos to a ordinary person. Animal handlers went around busily, picking up items that would be needed for the next act. Equipment hands pushed passed each other carrying metal contraptions you couldn’t even begin to figure out. To you, it was amazing. She couldn’t stop finding new things to look at. Suddenly, the voice you’d unconsciously been blocking out stopped, causing you to look back at the source.</p><p>She smiled shyly, turning your attention back towards the ringleader. “Sorry, Tony there’s just so much to look at,” she awed, gazing around again once more for emphasis. “Now what were you saying?”</p><p>Tony laughed before guiding her to the small opening in the curtain. “The first act is about to start. I figured this would be a good way for you to meet everyone and get to know they’re acts. Since you’re first of May, it’s important that they get to know you now.” She nodded, steering her attention back over to the ring. She watched as a strongman lifted a motorcycle with three audience members on the back of it, doing so effortlessly. Pepper’s voice sounded through the arena again.</p><p>“Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for our Star Spangled Man, Steve Rogers!” Steve waved once more at the crowd before running through the curtain to where she watched. He noticed her and strode up to her confidently before sticked out his hand to shake.</p><p>“You must be Y/N,” he smiled widely. “Stark’s told us a lot about you. You’re here for the elephants?” She nodded, smiling at the mention of the fantastic beasts. Tony just rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah Spangles, go get prepped.”</p><p>The rest of the acts went just like that. She soon learned that Steve was a strongman who did a lot of other stunts like the Globe of Death or even the canon for bigger audiences. Natasha, the acrobat he’d been holding up early was known for her contortions and aerial scarf routine. Y/N was amazed by her graceful yet hard being about her. Sam, who called himself Falcon, was the aerial trapeze artist she noticed earlier swinging from the rafters. Along with that, he did tightrope and other amazing aerial stunts. Wanda and Vision were the clairvoyant couple who, indeed, were floating around in a mystical form. Their act heavily relied on audience participation, not something easy to come by these days. She’d met Bruce, Tony’s right hand man in creating the show, as he working with Tony on figuring out the science of it all. He had rolled his eyes when Tony asked him to do anything, saying, “Seven PhD’s and this is what I do for a living?”</p><p>Tony had left her a couple of times to go out and work the crowd a little bit. Pepper was doing a fantastic job and introducing the acts, but no one could lead as well as Tony Stark. He was the type of person who thought of endless ideas and fully planned to get what he wanted, no matter how hard the work. Tony was in his element in this business, leading a group of people into the ideal frame of mind and performing his ass off while doing it. It was truly what he needed.</p><p>It was nearing the end of the show and Y/N’s mind was dizzied by the amount of talent this show, her head physically spinning around to try to take everything in. Tony was back out with Pepper to introduce one of the last acts.</p><p>“Although our night together is coming to a close,” he announced, a collective groan coming from the audience. “We still have great acts to come! Give it up for Bucky Barnes and his knives!” He cheered.</p><p>From the sidelines, she gasped quietly when the man walked out. He was in tight black pants, shirtless, with his hair half up in a bun. Aside from the overall beast of a man he was, what drew her in was his left arm. It was made out of complete metal that shine bright under the arena’s lights. Tucked away into pants were several knives for his act.</p><p>A board was brought with several small, tiny balloons attached to it. Bucky walked about 20 feet away from it, positioning himself in a stance before he perfectly aimed a knife at each of the balloons. While he continued to do tricks with his knives, she became entranced by him. He didn’t seem to be putting in much effort to his act at all, his success coming from sheer talent. After a while, Friday’s voice sounded again.</p><p>“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome again, our Star Spangled Man, Steve Rogers!” The audience cheered, clearly anticipating what was to come.</p><p>Steve came out behind the curtain, revealing Y/N for a solid second while you continued to stare at the two strongmen out there. He embraced Bucky in a brotherly hug before walking over to the board and pressing his back against it. Once again, tiny balloons dotted the board around Steve’s body. One by one, the balloons popped as Bucky’s throws practically grazed Steve’s large form.</p><p>The pair continued the act together a couple more minutes and Y/N never looked away once. She was truly amazed.</p><p>Steve and Bucky walked through the curtain looking like the best of friends, teasing each other. “You know if you wanted to give me a heart attack, she could’ve just let me know ahead of time, jerk.” Steve cracked.</p><p>She giggled, capturing the blonde’s attention. Steve wrapped an arm around Bucky’s shoulders steering him away from his desired destination and started walk over to where she stood.</p><p>“Buck, there’s someone I think you should meet.” Steve poked, closing in on her. “This is Y/N! She’s going our team and she’s gonna work with the big girls and create a kind of dressage with them.”</p><p>Bucky stuck his left arm out, Y/N taking it gently shaking it. “I’m Bucky, it’s nice to meet you.” Blushed creeped up her neck at his blue eyes.</p><p>“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she responded, smiling widely. His eyes caught hers again and he soon found himself caught in her gaze. He cleared his throat.</p><p>“So, elephants huh?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. First of May</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>From behind the curtain, Stark’s Spectacular Show was anything but glamorous. Carnies ran around getting the equipment together. Bull hands danced around the elephants, getting everything ready for their debut. You waited by the curtain waiting for Steve’s act to finish up.</p><p>In the weeks since you literally joined the circus, you’d grown to be a part of a family. Natasha and Wanda became your girls, helping you adjust to the adrenaline rush that came with the job and including you in their late-night gossip sessions after the group went out for drinks. You soon learned that Vision and Wanda were the absolute cutest couple out there. Tony and you got back into the swing of being around each other constantly, reminiscing on your time together in college as he showed you all the ins and outs of the occupation. Steve became someone you looked up to, being the first act Tony recruited. You’d truly grown close with almost everybody.</p><p>Bucky Barnes was the exception.</p><p>You and Bucky danced around each other, not really engaging with each other. While the others had welcomed you with opened arms, Bucky seemed to stay away. In his defense, so did you. After watching his act for the first time, you were fascinated and intimidated by him. Whenever you told yourself you’d act normal around him, you would turn shy the moment you saw him. Sure, when the group went out, you made polite conversation, but it wasn’t the same. So, you busied yourself to keep your mind off of him.</p><p>When you had met the three elephants, you immediately fell in love. Weeks of training and building trust had worked well. And you knew they would make you proud for your debut performance. Daisy, the smallest of the three giants, was a sassy one with a bit of a mischief side. She liked to spray you with water when you turned your back to her. She had a darker complexion around her feet, earning her name after the Blackfoot daisies you’d grown up with.</p><p>The middle girl, Althea was an honest-to-god sweetheart. She trusted you almost immediately, listened to your commands, and tried the best she good. She loved it when you scratched behind her ears.</p><p>The bigger of the three sisters was named Rosie after the famous elephant from the 1920’s, along with Rosie the riveter. Rosie took the longest to trust you completely, but she absolutely loved you now. She would often stick out her trunk whenever you were around, just to make contact with you. She executed your commands perfectly the first time, while the others needed more training.</p><p>These girls had become your own little family. One that you were extremely protective of. These girls were your girls.</p><p>Now here you were. About to perform your act for the first time.</p><p>Bucky watched you from the distance as you walked up to each of the elephants whispering words of encouragement. You had wrapped yourself in a silk robe that stopped at your knees, wanting to wait until you showed your costume to everyone. He thought you looked gorgeous just like that. Bucky found it amazing how much you cared for the elephants as he watched you smooth out Althea’s ear. You walked around to Rosie, allowing her trunk to wrap around you as you giggled. He found himself smiling.</p><p>Loud cheering could be heard from the other side of the curtain in the arena. You turned your head away from the girls to the stage taking a large breath in anticipation. Bucky did the same and walked towards you.</p><p>“Hey, Y/N,” he spoke nervously. You looked at him with wide eyes before smiling back at him.</p><p>“Hey, Bucky,” she said quietly. “What’s up?”</p><p>He smiled at her before looking at the curtain. “I just wanted to wish you good luck tonight. I’m sure you’re gonna blow us all away. You seem to be doing well with the girls.”</p><p>You blushed at his words of encouragement, looking back at the sisters. “Thanks, Bucky. They’re so amazing, aren’t they?” you asked.</p><p>Bucky just stared at you, shamelessly admiring the way your eyes lit up when you talked about the elephants. “Yeah, they are.”</p><p>Tony’s loud voice boomed from the arena. “Well done Steve, that was great! For our next performance, I’m gonna ask that all of our main acts come out into the arena to watch this!” Bucky looked back at you and smiled.</p><p>“I’ll see you out there,” he said, before running through the curtain. You let out a breath you didn’t know you had.</p><p>Natasha, Wanda, Sam, and Vision all ran through the curtain, yelling encouragement and high fiving you as they passed. Pepper’s voice sounded through the arena this time.</p><p>“For our next performance, we’re presenting a brand, new act! Our close friend has been working with some very special animals these past several weeks to put on a great show for you guys.” You shrugged on the red robe and handed it to one of the bull hands to put in the pad room. “Please welcome to the arena, Y/N and the Petals!”</p><p>Cheers echoed the stadium as the lights went out, only toys lit the bleachers. You walked out into the arena and stood in a pose with your hands casually over your head. The cheers had died down, leaving a deafening silence in its place. Bucky swear he could hear you take a deep breathe as the slow melody flooded through the stadium.</p><p>He and the others sat on the first row Tony had reserved for this. He watched in awe as sparks started to fall like hot water drops, slowly moving closer to meet in the middle. He let out a soft gasp as the sparks illuminated your silhouette.</p><p>You moved fluidly with the music, taking a hand and moving it gracefully to direct to the left of the stage. The waterfall of sparks opened up where you cued, lights in the arena becoming the tiniest bit lit as the three elephants moved in a line. Cheers erupted once again. Bucky’s eyes trained on your face as it held a small smile at the sight of the girls. He could now see that you wore a gorgeous rose gold leotard that hugged your body in all the right places. You were impossibly beautiful to him.</p><p>You hand moved in a semicircle, leading the elephants to stand in front of you in that shape. Rosie stuck out her trunk at you first, causing you to smile widely, reaching out to gently tap it. Althea and Daisy followed suit. You raised both your hands out to your sides. Bucky could see your mouth move to say, “Girls, qui.” They all watch you intently.</p><p>You quickly turned in a pirouette, your leg reaching out to stop you. The crowd cheered as the elephants all turned around, back ends facing you. Bucky chuckled in bewilderment. He felt someone tap his arm, he reluctantly looked away to see Steve. “She’s incredible,” he whispered. Bucky looked back, watching as you had now moved in front of Daisy, bringing your knee up slightly, resting on your toe, with one hand on your opposite leg and one open your head. To him, you looked incredibly graceful. Daisy lifted a leg slightly and moved her trunk above her head, mimicking your pose. You turned to the audience and gesture to her. The audience erupted in claps. You moved to stand in front Althea, kneeling on a knee and extending the other out in front, arms straight out to your side, palms facing up, and your head bowing down. The middle sister followed suit kneeling in front of you. More cheers filled the stadium.</p><p>Lastly, you to moved to Rosie who stood between her two younger sisters. In front of her, Bucky watched as you went into a handstand, then brought your legs down in a split, then moved so your arms sat between your legs. He heard your voice command, “Come on Rosie.” The elephant brought her trunk up to her head and sat down with her front legs between her back. The crowd laughed and cheered. “Fermo!” you commanded.</p><p>Bucky’s jaw was slack and you moved in front of the three elephants with your hands out again, present the three to the crowd. Him, along with the rest of the audience stood up out of their seat howling cheers and clapping. A stage hand brought out an ear piece to you.</p><p>“Wow, Y/N that was incredible!” Tony’s voice boomed, once again.</p><p>“Thanks, Tony,” you replied adjusting the mic. You turned to the audience. “You guys want some more?” The audience erupted in cheers. You laughed into your headset. “Alright then!” you pointed to each of the elephants, each of them moving out of their pose at the gesture. “Rosie, avanti.” The eldest walked up behind you placing her trunk on your shoulder. You giggled.</p><p>“Alright girl let’s show ‘em what we got,” you moved the mic away and said to her, the mic still catching the faint sound of it.  Your mic volume lowered, along with the music. Bucky moved closer to the edge of his seat in anticipation. You grabbed her head harness, holding on tight. Rosie’s trunk came up to your foot, allowing you gently rest your foot on it. With a command of “sollevami”, her trunk quickly went up, the force catapulting you to a standing position on the padding on her back. Your turned around carefully and throw you arms out. Bucky’s jaw went slack and the crowd screamed.</p><p>“Wanna meet the girls?” you asked the audience. “This girl I’m on is Rosie! She’s the oldest of these sisters. While she’s incredibly well-behaved for me and for you, she loves to tease her sisters. She loves to cuddle too, don’t you doll?” Rosie trumpeted, causing the audience to laugh. “Althea, avanti.” To your right, the elephant moved up next to Rosie. You stepped across to the other elephants and sat down behind her ears. Your confidence had Bucky reeling.</p><p>You continued to introduce the girls to the audience, keeping the crowd fully engaged, a few tricks here and there. By now, you’d moved to Daisy’s back, Althea and Rosie flanked to your sides. As you sat behind her ears, you moved your arms to your side, circling them gracefully. The girls at your sides got on the bull tabs brought out and spun in circles. They then moved off the tabs and watched you.</p><p>The spotlight shined on you as you donkey kicked into a hand stand, Daisy turning in a circle with you on her back. You then moved into a backbend on her back and kicking back into a stand position. After showcasing more of your talent and the girls’ talent, you slid down Daisy’s trunk to the ground and ended your routine. Bucky sat in complete awe.</p><p>Your natural talent amazed him. The way you were able to talk to the elephants, not just command them was absolutely incredible. Beside your care for the girls, Bucky thought you moved beautifully, carefully executing every trick.</p><p>“Everyone, give it up for Y/N!” Pepper cheered. The team all stood up, cheering and whistling for their family member. As the team made there way back behind the curtain once again, everyone stopped to hug and congratulate you on your amazing performance. He admired your face light up in pure joy as Tony pulled her into a hug. Bucky’s expression dropped as he realized he wouldn’t be able to congratulate you in the same way.</p><p>You were a good person and everyone could see that. Bucky just wished he had more time with you.</p><p>Tony started walking away from you towards Bucky, snickering. “You keep that mouth of your open any longer, you’re gonna catch some bugs,” he teased as he attempted to walk past him. Bucky’s metal arm grabbed at Tony’s wrist.</p><p>“Hey Tony,” he started. “I really want to get to know Y/N. She’s an amazing person. I know I’m no good for her, but I have an idea for joining acts if you’re willing to help me set it up?”</p><p>Tony looked back at Bucky with his eyebrows raised, a smirk slowly settling into his features. He placed a hand on Bucky’s shoulder.</p><p>“Alright, pal. What’s your idea?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Freaksho</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You want me to do what?” you asked in shock. Tony rolled his eyes, putting his hands on your shoulders.</p><p>“It’s not that big of a deal, I just want you two to combine acts it’s that simple,” he smiled. “Look, since you joined the show, business has been booming!”</p><p>“So why would we change it?” you rolled your eyes. Tony just smiled.</p><p>“Look at it this way, Y/N. You’ve gotten along with everyone here, all the staff, the performers. Everyone here gets along with you great, except Bucky.” You scoffed.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me Tony,” you argued. “The man hasn’t said five words to me since my first performance. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m some type of weirdo.”</p><p>Tony chuckled, as he put an arm around your back as he led you into the big top. “Ya know I started his place?” he said, looking around the tent wistfully. “For years, I’ve seen people who are different get treated like absolute shit. The world is a hurtful place for weirdos. I wanted to make a place safe for those couldn’t help but be different. If you’re a weirdo, you’re in the right place kid.”</p><p>You smiled, hugging your friend back from the side. “You’re right, Tones. I’ll do it.”</p><p>“You will? Oh great! You two will kick it off I promise. Meet him here tomorrow at ten sharp okay?”</p><p>“You got it.”</p><p>__________</p><p>Walking into the Big Top, you found Bucky throwing loose knives at a simple target in the middle of the ring. Thud. The slicing of air and the sound of the blade hitting the target sent shivers through your body. His arm flexed as he positioned to throw another one, hitting the bullseye right next to the previous one. You cleared your throat, causing him to look up. “Hey Bucky,” you called shyly.</p><p>“Hey Y/N,” he smiled, gathering the blades from the target. He noticed several of the animal hands leading the elephants into the ring behind you. “Morning girls.” He quipped.</p><p>Dressed in leggings, and a simple t-shirt, you directed the girls to stand in place with their own bushels of grass and tree bark to keep them entertained. You turned back to the knife thrower, fixing your ponytail.</p><p>“I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” you offered a soft smile. “Tony can be a bit much when it comes to making money.”</p><p>Bucky chuckled, strapping on his various thigh and arm holsters. “Tell me about it. I don’t think he stopped talking for two weeks after he found out about your girls. And besides, I think this’ll be a great act.”</p><p>You smiled softly to yourself. Your girls.</p><p>“Really? I didn’t know he was that excited,” you shrugged, feeding Althea a treat from your training satchel.</p><p>“Well you haven’t seen you perform then,” he winked, causing you to flush a red that rivaled the color of the Big Top. “The way you work with the girls is incredible, Y/N. They trust you so easily, you move so fluently with them it’s insane.”</p><p>“Thank you, Bucky,” you walked closer to him. “That means a lot coming from you.”</p><p>Before he could respond, you cleared your throat. “Alright then, show me what you’ve got.”</p><p>Bucky smiled once more, staring at the props in front of him. “Well basically ya know what you’ve seen in the show. I can work with moving targets and wheels, small targets, knives on fire, blindfolded stunts,” he listed. You flushed a little, once again finding his talent incredibly attractive. “Basically, anything you can think of, I can pretty much do it.”</p><p>“Wow,” you breathed out. “How’d you get so good at this stuff?”</p><p>He looked down, moving to the large target wheel. He began placing balloons freely around the surface. “Well,” he began, grimacing a little bit. “I was military for five years. Special forces, usually a lot of hand to hand combat. I was trained in how to use knives in combat, and slowly became the go-to guy when it to came to missions.”</p><p>“Bucky,” you softly spoke. “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”</p><p>“No, it’s okay,” he smiled sadly. “If we’re gonna be trusting each other out there, you should know.”</p><p>“I already trust you,” you offered, as Rosie’s trunk wrapped around your waist. “But if you really want to.”</p><p>He smiled at your kind words. “One day there was a bomb,” he sighed. “No one was expecting it, or else I wouldn’t have been sent it. I was in the middle of fightin’ somebody when it went off. And that’s how I got this.” He shrugged his metal arm, looking at it carefully. You moved to stand beside him.</p><p>“For years I thought I was a monster. People stared; people ran away. Some even pointed and yelled at me, like I was some kind of freakshow that was unnatural. Like it was my fault.” You placed a hand on the metal appendage, thumb rubbing his bicep.</p><p>“You’re none of those things. This,” you slowly moved down towards his wrist, giving a slight squeeze, not caring if he could feel it or not. “This is a beautiful part of you. You’re not a freakshow.”</p><p>He grinned sweetly, putting his flesh hand on top of yours. “That’s why I’m so happy I found this place. It’s full of people like me. People who are good, but not every sees it that way.” His hand squeezes yours, before he clears his throat.</p><p>“I didn’t mean to dampen the mood,” he chuckled, standing up and moving away from you. “I’ve got an idea, involving your girls over there. You said you trust me, right?” he grinned.</p><p>You looked over at your girls and then back to him standing ahead of you. “Of course,” you encouraged.</p><p>________</p><p>After sharing his idea with you, the next step was to get the elephants to trust him. A lot of the act would rely on him riding them with you, and they needed to adjust to someone else being with them.</p><p>“We’ll start with Althea, she should be the easiest,” you took his hand and led him to your middle child. Her trunk came up and sniffed around your shirt and your face, before wrapping it around your waist and gently lifting you before setting you down. “Hello Althie,” you chuckled, gently patting her snout. “I’ve got a friend with me. You can trust him, okay.”</p><p>You turned to Bucky, smiling shyly, even though he was already beaming at you. “This might be a little weird, but can I see your bandana?” He nodded and handed you the cloth, only for you to hold it out in front of the grey pachyderm. She smelt the rag, lowering her trunk to Bucky as you encouraged him to move closer to her.</p><p>“Hey there gorgeous,” his voice ruffed out. Her truck mimicked how she greeted you, drifting around his torso and neck to get used to his smell. Once she had been introduced, she snorted out a little in greeting.</p><p>“See?” you laughed. “She already likes you.”</p><p>He chuckled and held out a hand, slowly resting it on her trunk, rubbing softly. “Nice to meet you,” he nearly whispered. Her trunk wrapped around his waist, tugging him upwards.</p><p>“Uhhh, Y/N?” he called nervously. “A little help here?”</p><p>“No can do, Buck,” you laughed as she placed him on her back. “I think it’s safe to say she trusts you if you’re up there.”</p><p>“Hahaha that’s great but what do I do?”</p><p>“Scoot forward,” you said in amusement. “Althea, sollevami.” Soon, she had you on her back, standing behind Bucky facing him.</p><p>“Is that Italian?” Bucky questioned, moving forward to scratch behind her ear as he had seen many times before.</p><p>“Yeah it is,” he could hear the smile in your voice. “How’d you know she likes that?”</p><p>Carefully, he turned to face you. With a shy smile, he answered. “I notice you do that for her when she’s getting nervous before a show. It always seems to make her happy so I thought it must be a favorite of hers.”</p><p>“I didn’t think anybody noticed that,” you smiled, before stepping around Bucky to get right behind Althea’s ear. “Come on,” you said before softly commanding Althea to move, startling Bucky. “Let’s go for a ride before you meet the other two.”</p><p>Slowly, you and Bucky rode her around the ring, circling the rest of the equipment in the middle. As Althea walked and followed your commands, you murmured words of encouragement into her ear. Bucky watched in appreciation as you calmed and encouraged her.</p><p>“You’re so good with them,” he complimented, watching you blush under his gaze.</p><p>“Thank you, Bucky,” you smiled softly. “Now let’s meet Daisy! Althea, ferma.”</p><p>The three of you stopped in front of the black-footed elephant, allowing Althea to set you both down. With Daisy, the introduction process was the same, letting sniff at Bucky all over with her trunk. When the mischief maker, sniffed at his crotch, he jumped back with a yelp. You laughed from beside him.</p><p>“Daisy,” you scolded as firmly as you could through your chuckles. “You, missy, are a trouble maker.”</p><p>Bucky chuckled along side you as Daisy wrapped her trunk about Bucky in an embrace. Petting her trunk, he continued to talk to you about the plan for the performance. Conversation was flowing easily between the two of you at this point, feeling more than comfortable around each other. Distracted by each other, neither of you noticed Daisy’s trunk moving to push Bucky against you abruptly, causing you both to land on the ground with Bucky on top of you.</p><p>Your face red as his body pressed against you, legs entangled together. Your hands covered your face as you groaned. “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe she did that.”</p><p>Bucky stood up, face just as noticeably red as yours, and held out his hand for yours to slip into. “It’s okay really, Y/N. And besides,” He cleared his throat in an effort to get some confidence flowing. “I like being close to you.” He winked.</p><p>Chuckling you nervously, you moved to Rosie. “Alright sweetheart, it’s your turn. You can trust him, I promise.” You rested your forehead on her trunk. She greeted you with curious sniffs, just as her sisters before. Her ears flapped happily, chirping and trumpeting at you.</p><p>“Buck,” you said softly. “Come here and meet Rosie.”</p><p>Bucky strode up next you, shoulders bumping, with a wide beaming smile on his face. “Hiya big girl,” he greeted as he repeated her actions with him. Her ears flapped again snorting at him.</p><p>“What’s got you all happy?” you smirked. She just snorted again in answer and nudged you closer to Bucky. You felt him chuckle next you.</p><p>“I don’t know much about elephants,” he started, looking up at the oldest sister in awe. “But I think she smelt me on you.”</p><p>“Oh my god,” you giggled, practically pressed against him complete yet again. “Rosie, come on! You trust him already? It took me a week!” you huffed.</p><p>Bucky lifted her trunk up from around you and stepped closer to her. “I guess she just loves me more, doll.”</p><p>You grinned, beaming at the nickname. “Sollevami,” you called to her, letting her wrap her trunk around you and lift you up. Sitting, you looked down at Bucky who stood by her side, smirking at you.</p><p>“Maybe, but will she listen to you?” you mocked, reaching a hand down to help him up.</p><p>He stared into your eyes, smile not leaving his face as his grabbed you hand and let Rosie lift him up. Once he was seating behind you, he slowly held on to your hip for balance. You smirked back at him and he knew.</p><p>This was the best idea he ever had.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Calliope</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The weeks following your initial meeting were more of the same. Shy flirting, joking, and teasing with, of course, the help of the elephants.</p><p>As Bucky spent more and more time with the girls, they began to see him as part of your little family. Daisy would tap on his shoulder and tug lightly on his long chestnut locks when she wanted attention. Bucky would always chuckle and kick a ball towards her to play with, playing a makeshift game of soccer with the three-ton elephant. Althea got into a habit of lifting Bucky up by his waist whenever he was getting her ready, something you had taught him in the first week. You often would come in to see Bucky lying on his back against hers, feet scratching gently behind her ears. Sometimes he would fall asleep there or sit there talking to her. Rosie would be constantly touching him, often resting a trunk on his shoulder while he prepared his knives. With your new act, they would each have to get used to the blades, so Bucky would often let her sniff at whatever he was doing. Other times, she would pull him close to her legs and hug with her trunk while she happily flapped her ears.</p><p>Now, it was the night of your first performance together. You fiddled with your dress robe as you stood in front of Rosie, cooing words of encouragement. For her or yourself, you didn’t know.</p><p>“Y/N?” He walked up next to you behind the curtain. “You ready?”</p><p>You smiled softly, shrugging the silk off of your shoulders, revealing your outfit for the night. Both you and Bucky wore cream leotards, with segments of lace across the arms. Dancing along your collar bones were embroidered flowers, mimicking the names of the elephants. On the sides of your waists were sharp vertical rose red lines, showcasing the beautiful mixture of both of your acts together. However, his outfit concealed several knives. You could hear Bucky clear his throat.</p><p>“You look beautiful, doll,” he breathed out, brushing a loose curled strand of hair behind your ear. “You always do.”</p><p>Before his hand moved away, you reached up to grab it, intertwining your fingers together. Eyes bright and searching you spoke softly, “Bucky, I-“</p><p>But the booming vibration of Tony’s voice echoed through the arena, announcing, “Alright everyone, this is moment you’ve all been waiting for. Tonight, for the first time ever, two of our favorite acts are combining together in a new paired act!”</p><p>“Hey,” he whispered softly. “It’s going to be great, I promise. Just trust me.”</p><p>You squeezed his hand, hoping the action could convey what all the worlds in this moment couldn’t. “I always do.”</p><p>He squeezed back tightly, not able to respond before Tony’s voice rang out. “Please give a warm welcome to James Barnes, Y/N Y/L/N, and the Petals!!”</p><p>The large curtain opened wide revealing you and Bucky with wide grins and interlocked hands. Both of you ran into the arena waving to the crowd as cheers erupted from the audience. You squeezed his hand again, as you turned to look at him. “You okay?” He spoke, not having a mic on. With a wide smile and a curt nod, you broke apart from each other and moved to the set up of Bucky’s equipment.</p><p>Bucky walked over to his table, picking up a small bouquet of flowers before walking back over to you. His body was inches from you, cool breath dancing across you face. “I got these for you, gorgeous,” he winked, causing you to giggle.</p><p>“Why thank you,” you winked back, walking over to one of the target boards. Smiling widely at the bouquet in your hand, you picked out a daisy and held the stem in your teeth before turning sidewalks against the wood. Gasps from the audience echoed through the arena and Bucky slid a white handled blade out of his holster and positioned it. You heard the blade slice through the air and then a thud. The flower fell to the ground. You repeated with the other flowers in your bouquet until all were cut shorter. Bucky walked towards the board and you to get his knives. “You good, sweetheart?” he said your ear. You hummed, but you didn’t know if it was him or the knives that made your body tremble. All you knew that it was good.</p><p>He bent and picked up the first flower he cut, smiling softly at you as he tucked it behind ear. His fingers trailed your jaw line as he pulled away. Your back arched slightly off the board, your body moving to its own accord. He chuckled lowly with a smirk, as he sauntered back to his spot.</p><p>You folded into a backbend, hands steadily finding their place on the ground. Slowly, your legs lifted off of the ground and bended at the knee, making sharp angles. Your right leg bent in front of your chest, toes flexed, and your left leg bent to meet your other knee, leaving a triangle shaped gap behind your head. Once you felt balanced, you turned your head to smile at Bucky. The crowd clapped at your pose.</p><p>Bucky’s arm reared up once more, flicking the blade towards you. Thud. The handle of the knife wiggled against your forearm. One by one, thud by thud, Bucky outlined your form with his knives, blades millimeters from your skin. Your arms shook a fraction as Bucky prepared the final knife. You heard him blow air out of his mouth, allowing his mind to concentrate. Rolling drums vibrated through the floor in anticipation.</p><p>He flexed his arm and with a quick flick of the elbow, the blade cut through the air and hit the board. Thud. Right about your head in the small space your bent legs created, the blade wobbled in the wood.</p><p>You breathed out, shuffling your arms to the side, stepping away from the board before relaxing your body and standing straight once again.</p><p>The audience erupted, making you giggle slightly as Bucky walked towards you.</p><p>“I thought you were gonna give me a haircut for second there, Buck,” you smiled.</p><p>“Don’t even joke like that right now,” his voice roughed out. “I don’t know what I would do.”</p><p>“I told you I trust you, James,” spoken softly, almost making him pause at his name. “You’re doing so good right now, it’s amazing.”</p><p>He blushed, pulling the last blade out. “Ready for this, hun?” he smiled. You nodded.</p><p>You followed him back at his position, he picked up the floral bandana hanging from his tactical belt. In a flashy showcase, he waved it through the air, gaining the attention of the crowd. He handed you the blindfold, your skin tingling as his fingers brushed against yours. He turned, his back facing you as you gently pressed the fabric to his eyes.</p><p>You leaned forward, breath brushing his ear as your fingers smoothed his hair down and tied the cloth. “I trust you. We’ve practiced this a thousand times. You’re the only person I would ever want to do this.”</p><p>“I won’t hurt you,” he sighed. “I can’t.” You smiled grimly at the back of his head, knowing he couldn’t see it. You brushed your palms on his back, letting him know you were done, before turning him towards the board.</p><p>“I know, James.” You stepped back to the board, facing away from him, chest brushing against the wood. Feet planted themselves into the floor, firm and unmoving unless wanted. Fingers wound themselves around the board, holding your body steady. You breathed out through your mouth, settling your nerves as best you could. The music picked up pace and you began to count in your mind.</p><p>Like a dance, you and Bucky moved together. You leaned to your right, poking your head around the board, and with a thud the blade hit the spot where your body had just been. Quickly, you moved the to the other side, the second knife repeating the action. Back and forth, the blades and your body tangoed with each other. Finally, you stood in the middle, legs wide, and let Bucky throwing the knife in the space between your knees. You then bent in front of you as the final blade cut through the air and pierced the board above you were your neck had been before.</p><p>You gasped slightly out of relief, loud enough for Bucky to rip his blindfold off in instant panic. His eyes softened at your blinding smile, running his fingers through his hair. “I told you,” you mouth to him.</p><p>_______</p><p>You had transitioned to Althea’s back, standing proud as she slowly meandered around the ring. Bucky now stood behind you, hands lightly grasping your waist for security. Your bodies moved slowly together with the natural sway of the elephant’s tread. Letting go, his hands brushes against the sides of your body as he moved to sit in front of you, almost directly nestled behind Althea’s ears. He hooked his feet in the make-shift stirrups, and laid down on his back. Taking a deep breath, you met his eyes with a playful wink and a lopsided grin.</p><p>His arms bent at the elbows, the surface of Althea’s back, giving him some support as you step into his open palms. Wobbling a miniscule, you heard Bucky murmur underneath you “I gotcha doll. I won’t let you fall I promise.” You smiled, softly knowing you had already fallen too hard for recovery.</p><p>You raise a leg up behind you and grabbed it with your hands pulling it up into a split. You smiled as Althea continued her trailing around the ring. A soft breeze caressed your body and if it hadn’t been for Bucky’s grip on your ankle, you would have for sure thought you were flying. Some part of you still felt like you were. The strong man under you had lifted your spirits to great limit, and you knew that if he had asked, you would gladly take flight anywhere he wanted.</p><p>Using his core muscles, he sat up, holding you up as if you were weightless. The feeling was becoming all too familiar to you after weeks of training. Steadily he returned to a standing position, his feet near gripping against the rough skin beneath him. “Are you ready, sweetheart?”</p><p>“I’m good, Buck,” and then he twisted you in the air, turning your body facing him. With your arms still holding your leg behind your head, Bucky balanced you in one hand, while his metal slowly moved to the top of your thigh and into the apex where it met your hip.</p><p>Your breathing hitched slightly at the touch of his metal hand, as it had every time you had practiced this move, body flushing the same color pink and the embroidered petals on your leotard. Bucky’s grasp on your foot shifted, holding onto the arch as your body began tipping forward. The line of your body became perpendicular to his, only being kept up by his arms. Audience members gasped and murmured as Althea began to turn underneath you, Bucky’s grip not breaking.</p><p>After a couple of rotations, you released leg that was in your grip and allowed your body to straight parallel to Bucky’s. Slowly his arms lowered you down, your hands finding his shoulders as you slide down to put your feet on Althea’s back.</p><p>“God, you’re good,” Bucky complimented. You giggled giving him a week, your bodies still pressed together. You gaze lingered on his, with a playful gleam as you leaned into the romantic storyline of your performance. You brought a hand up to his cheek, rubbing your thumb over the high cheek bone.</p><p>Bucky’s hands slid to your waist, thumbs circling the fabric. “Is this okay? We can always do another pose, if you’re uncomfortable.”</p><p>You chuckled, moving hands to his neck, caressing softly before moving to his shoulders. “I’m okay, James. I promise.” He smiled, his hand moving to pull your thigh and calf around his waist. Whistles echoed through the stands.</p><p>With both legs wrapped around his waist, your ankles interlocked and your butt rested on the slight bend of his knee. The both of you began to lean away from each other, making the balance of both of your bodies only more delicate. Bucky let go of one of your thighs, reaching for your hand, giving you a tether to each other. You reached for his other hand, bodies now creating one straight line parallel to Althea’s back.</p><p>Cheers erupted once more as you both let go of one hand and waved to the crowd, the only thing keeping from falling being the balance of your bodies and Bucky’s thigh and leg muscles.</p><p>The elephant underneath you began to rotate once more, and you felt Bucky chuckle against you. A quick glance at him showed you a smile so bright it rivaled the spot lights on you.</p><p>After several more poses, Althea picked Bucky off her back and gently place him on the ground in front of his knives. You murmured a command in her ear, and let your body sway as she moseyed up next to Rosie. With a quick peck on the top of her head and scratch behind her ears, you gracefully stood up and made your way to Rosie’s neck.  You gave her a gentle pat, whispering, “Are you ready?”</p><p>And with a trumpet, your question was answered.</p><p>You slipped your hand into the sack nestled behind Rosie’s ear, pulling out a small hand held target. Letting out a shaky breath, you nodded at him with a small smile on your face. He would never hurt you. Commanding Rosie to stop, you raised up on your feet, before going into a handstand, still clutching onto the target. As you grasped your balance on her back, you slowly reached out the hand holding the target, holding it far from your body and Rosie’s beneath you. Murmurs from the crowd and drums in the music intensified in the air as Bucky’s metal arm reared back and threw the first blade towards the target. Fear and nervousness in your body silenced the noise and you almost closed your eyes, before hearing the thud. Quickly standing back up right, you flashed the target towards the crowd with a beaming smile, letting the sounds of their cheers flood your ears once again.</p><p>You smiled in Bucky’s direction before bringing out two targets to use to catch the knives. You crossed them over your chest as Bucky tightened his bicep again throwing two knives out towards you. Quickly you brought the targets to your sides, knives hitting them the next second. Thud. Thud.</p><p>You tossed the knives and targets to the ground before throwing another pose towards the crowd, earning their cheers again.</p><p>You turned and winked at Bucky before stepping over to the next girl, flowing into the next pose, now on top of Daisy; legs curved over your head, dangling in front of your face and you stood on your hands. You attached a target to one of your ankles and straightened it out away from your face. Nervousness had subsided by now, trusting in Bucky’s abilities completely by now. You nodded again. Thud.</p><p>After several more poses, it now Althea’s turn to try. You moved down off of her, letting her help you with her trunk before moving in front of her and handing her a target. You hand a target wrapped around your body, facing your side and another one in your hand. You smoothly laid down on your back, your head furthest away from her head. The target stood up from your stomach, facing Bucky, and the target in your hand was soon placed in your mouth.</p><p>Rolling drums filled the arena as Bucky threw the first knife, landing in the target Althea held in her trunk. A collective gasp rolled through the tent. He squared up his feet again, taking a deep breath and he focused on the tension in his arm. He wound his arm up again, his breath shaking as he stared down the trajectory of the knife. The target rose and fell with the slow and steady movements of your calming breaths. His focus was that. The up-down motion actioning like a metronome, syncing him with you. A quick flick and the knife flitted through the air, a slight whistle from the wind in its path. Thud, he heard. Oh thank god, he thought.</p><p>Silenced stilled in the arena. The crowd knew what was coming, the only target left being the one in your mouth. Your soft mouth, he thought, shaking his head slightly. As if this was the time for those thoughts. Your eyelids fluttered closed in anticipation, not thinking you could handle watching the next move.</p><p>His arm clenched once more, his breath was forced to be steady, or else panic was sure to flood his bones. He focused on your lips. The slight pucker of them around the targets handle, the way the almost trembled with every breath.</p><p>He could only hear his heartbeat, maybe even yours. It was now or never.</p><p>With a final flick of his forearm, the familiar whistle of the blade against the harsh air. The moment the knife left his fingers, his eyes wrenched themselves shut.</p><p>The crowd gasped, his heart sank before he realized what they heard.</p><p>The comforting sound of the final thud.</p><p>You quickly took the target out of your mouth and straightened your arm into the air as you sat up, thighs resting against Althea’s back. He heard you laugh melodically, and god did he love that sound. He began clapping, causing you to whip your bright smile towards him. Both of your arms went into the air in a moment of pure pride. The audience leapt to their, applause and cheers booming around you from every angle. You stood up, doing a backbend, into a tumble roll and stood near Althea’s head.</p><p>You slid down her trunk to Bucky who waited patiently with a huge smile and bright eyes on the ground. Stumbling into his arms, nearly falling to the ground until his arms wrapped around you as if he was dipping you in a dance.  You looked up smiling and giggled, “We fucking did it.”</p><p>He cupped your cheek and before you could blink, his lips molded against your own. Soft, cool, chapped, perfect lips against yours, moving slowly with so much emotion behind them. Like the most delicate of flower petals with the force of a hurricane behind them. And god if it didn’t make you wanna cry. Knowing the pain he dealt with every day, you knew he was letting you in with this act of emotion and love. You sighed softly, hand grasping at his chest, but the kiss was over way before it should be. Briefly, his eyes searched yours. For what you didn’t know. But you knew that all of these weeks of preparing had led to this. He stood you up, hand never leaving yours as the crowd jumped to their feet clapping and cheering. Your heart was racing and you’re pretty sure your mouth was catching flies, cause yeah you weren’t expecting that.</p><p>He took a bow, your eyes never leaving his form. With a wide smile and a chuckle, he spoke with a husky voice, “Better bow sweetheart, they’re waiting.” His arm gestured you out to the crowd as you bowed, smile never leaving your face. You flipped your hair up and squeezed his hand.</p><p>“I’ve been waiting, too, ya know,” you quipped, causing him to chuckle.</p><p>“Alrighty then,” Tony’s voice spoke up, all-knowing and smirking. You could hear the faint yells of encouragement from the rest of the team in the stands. Whistles and cat calls forced your hand to fly to your forehead out of being flustered. Your eyes scanned the crowd, not quite ready to leave the moment you were in. “Everyone give it up for our new favorite duo!”</p><p>A tug on your hand, pulled your eyes back to his, a quick quirk of an eyebrow reminded you to make your exit. The harsh fall of your feet across the ground as you both jogged towards the curtain acts like a rolling drum, building the anticipation for what would occur once the curtain closed behind you.</p><p>A look over at Bucky’s face told you what you needed to know.</p><p>Flowers and blades never looked better together.</p>
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